The Joint 16th Europhysics Conference on Atomic and Molecular Physics of Ionized Gases--5th International Conference on Reactive Plasmas

Abstract

The first joint meeting of the Europhysics Conference on Atomic and Molecular Physics of Ionized Gases (ESCAMPIG), the International Conference on Reactive Plasmas (ICRP) and the Symposium on Plasma Processing (SPP) was held in Grenoble, France between 14 and 18 July 2002. ESCAMPIG is an important biennial European event at which academics and industrialists working in low temperature plasma science meet. ICRP and SPP are Japanese triennial and annual meetings covering the entire field of reactive plasmas: generation, diagnostics and modelling of plasmas and their interaction with surfaces, and their applications. This ESCAMPIG 16th--ICRP 5th joint conference was organized under the sponsorship of the European Physical Society (EPS), the Japan Society of Applied Physics (JSAP), University Joseph Fourier (UJF) and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS).The scientific scope of this joint conference was focused on both experimental and theoretical aspects of physics of ionized gases and on its industrial applications. It covered the following topics:• atomic and molecular processes in plasmas • particle energy distribution functions • discharge physics: sheathes, transport processes and modelling • plasma diagnostics • laser and particle beam assisted plasma processes • physical basis of plasma chemistry and plasma--surface interactions • production and control of reactive plasmas • etching, deposition and cleaning • environmental and other applications. The ESCAMPIG 16th--ICRP 5th joint conference was attended by 379 scientists from 26 countries. 22 invited papers were presented. Most of these papers are published in this special issue. In addition, 16 contributed papers were selected by the joint International Scientific Committee (ISC) for oral presentation as a `hot topic'. Beside this, two workshops were held on `Recent developments in plasma monitoring for microelectronics', organized by Professor H Sugai, and `High pressure non-equilibrium plasmas and their applications', organized by Professors J-P Boeuf and H Fujiyama, and a total of 10 invited talks were given. The 337 contributed papers were presented in four poster sessions. The abstracts of all oral and poster contributions were published in two volumes of the proceedings of the conference.I would like to thank the members of the ISC of ICRP and ESCAMPIG, and particularly their respective chairs, Professors Hideo Sugai and Gerrit Kroesen, as well as the members of the Local Organizing Committee for their indispensable contributions for the success of this joint meeting. Thanks are also due to the sponsors of the conference, particularly JSAP, UJF, CNRS and the City of Grenoble.We are particularly grateful to the Editor-in-Chief of {\\it Plasma Sources Science and Technology}, Professor Noah Hershkowitz, for the opportunity to publish the invited papers in this special issue, and so bring the joint ESCAMPIG 16th--ICRP 5th meeting to a wider audience.